9th-grade Lesson Plans

Lesson Title: Urban Legends and Folktales
Created and Submitted by: Leticia Moncivais in collaboration with AR, English Language Arts Teacher
School Name: United High School 9th Grade Campus
District: United ISD
Roles: Library Media Specialist and ELA Teacher

Grade Level: 9th

Lesson Plan Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Compose their version of an urban legend in writing.
2. Tell their legend orally via Adobe Connect to an audience of 5th or 6th graders from feeder schools.
3. Create a diorama to be able to represent the legend. (extension)

ELA-R TEKS:
§110.31 b (14) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas.
(A) write an engaging story with a well-developed conflict and resolution, interesting and believable characters, and a range of literary strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense) and devices to enhance the plot.

Other Content Areas Addressed:
Art
Business Information Management Classes
Technology

Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Indicators:
1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical-thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.
3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess.

Classroom Teacher – School Librarian Collaboration:
• The librarian identifies websites that students can use to research urban legends and folktales and chooses books that students can read about urban legends and folktales.
• The librarian and teacher discuss examples of urban legends and folktales.
• The librarian constructs a timeline for the project.
• The librarian assists the students in gathering information via the Web or books.
• Both librarian and teacher approve of the urban legend picked.
• Both educators monitor the writing process.

Measurable Outcome or Final Product: Student create their own written version of an urban legend or folktale after their research on urban legends/folklore. After librarian and teacher approval, they learn the legend and practice retelling it orally to an audience. The audience will be made up of 5th and 6th grader students from feeder schools. Presentations will be conducted via Adobe Connect.

Assessment Tool: Urban Legends and Folklore Rubric

Resources:
Pathfinder:
• http://www.americanfolklore.net/
• http://www.pantheon.org/areas/folklore/folktales/
• http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html
• http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/fssn/
• http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/folk_tales/

• Urban Legends: The As-Complete-As-One-Could-Be Guide to Modern Myths by Ngaire Genge (Crown 2010)
• Urban Legends and Folklore Graphic Organizer
• Urban Legends and Folklore Rubric

Estimated Lesson Time: 2 Days

Instructional Plan Outline:

Preparation
• Educators make sure the students are able to access the websites needed for the folktales.
• Educators review the writing process with the students.
• Educators review urban legends and folktales with the students.
• Educators read urban legends and folktales to class.
• Librarian decorates and prepares the computer lab for the webinar.

Motivation
1. Educators read or retell an urban legend or folktale to the class. This will be one that the educator learned growing up that was retold by her grandmother.
2. Review the characteristics of these genres.
3. Educators explain the writing assignment and the fact that they will be reading or orally retelling the assignment to 5th and 6th graders via a Webcast. 
4. Educators show the decorated computer lab where students will be retelling their stories.

Presentation
5. Educators model using websites for researching urban legends or folktales.
6. Educators distribute graphic organizers.
7. Educators use think alouds to model the writing process for urban legends and folktales.
8. Review the graphic organizer and the important components of the story.

Guided Practice
9. Educators monitor as students research urban legends/folktales and complete their graphic organizer for developing their own version of an urban legend or folktale.

Closure
10. Students present their urban legends to the class in the “Haunted Computer Lab” prior to the Webcast date.
11. The best urban legends are selected to be aired on the Webcast with the feeder schools.

Assessment
12. Educators will grade final oral stories with the Urban Legends and Folktales Rubric.

Extension
13. Students may create a diorama to accompany their urban legend.
14. Students ask their parents and grandparents to share any urban legends that they heard while growing up.
15. Students may choose to write about any experiences that they may have had while growing up as well.

Lesson Plan Resources

Urban Legends and Folklore Graphic Organizer

Urban Legends and Folklore Rubric

ELAR_9_14_A_Moncivais_AR_TEKS_Alignment_Lesson_Plan (.pdf)